Create roadmap to reduce dependence on imports of minerals and materials to “near zero,” ISRO Chairman tells CSIR community

V. Narayanan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has urged the laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to draw up a roadmap to reduce the dependence on imports of minerals and materials to “near zero” in 10 years.

The ISRO Chairman was addressing a conclave on ‘New vistas in critical minerals and materials’ organised by the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) here on Friday as part of its golden jubilee conclave series.

‘Self-reliance crucial’

Mr. Narayanan wanted the CSIR community to make an inventory of the total imports in this sector and seek ways to produce them here. The development of materials, whether it be metallic, composite, carbon-carbon or thermo-protection materials, play a crucial role in multiple sectors, he said. Underscoring the importance of self-reliance in critical minerals and materials, Mr. Narayanan said material scientists have a critical role to play in this endeavour.

The Indian space programme, he said, has progressed remarkably from the “bicycle and bullock-cart era.” He described the successful launch of the NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission (NISAR) on July 30 as a milestone. While the country began its space mission with launch rockets gifted by the United States, today, it is progressing with equal partnership alongside developed nations, he said.

CSIR-NIIST director C. Anandharamakrishnan presided. Ramanuj Narayan, director, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT); Sandeep Ghosh Chaudhary, director, CSIR – National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML); U. Kamachi Mudali, Vice Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI); and Anupam Agnihotri, director, Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre, were among those present.